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Billy Roche

BILLY ROCHE

  (1949 - )
Nationality:    Irish
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    The Agency (London) Ltd  

Billy's plays, performed at the Abbey Theatre, include On Such As We, the Cavalcaders and the Wexford Trilogy. He began his career as a singer/musician, forming the Roach Band in the late seventies. His first novel, Tumbling Down, was published by Wotfhound Press in 1986. His first stage play, A Handful of Stars was staged at the Bush Theatre in 1988. This was followed by Poor Beast in the Rain. Belfry completed this trilogy at the Bush Theatre. All three plays, directed by Robin LeFevre, became known as the Wexford Trilogy which was performed in its entirety at the Bush, the Peacock and the Theatre Royal, Wexford. His fourth play Amphibians was commissioned by the RSC and performed at the Barbican. Billy wrote the screenplay for Trojan Eddie which was directed by Gitties Mackinnon and starred Stephen Rea and Richard Harris. He has been Writer-in-Residence at the Bush and Writer-in-Association with Druid and the Abbey Theatre. His book of short stories, Tales from Rainwater Pond, was published by Pillar Press and his recently revised version of Tumbling Down is published by Tassel Publications. A screenplay based on his short story, Table Manners, is currently in production, directed by Conor McPherson. As an actor Billy has appeared on stage in the Cavalcaders (Abbey Theatre and Royal Court), A Handful of Stars (Bush Theatre), Poor Beast in the Rain (Andrews Lane Theatre), Aristocrats tHampstead Theatre), the Grapes of Wrath (Storytellers) and Amphibians (Tin Drum Theatre). His film work includes Strapless, Trojan Eddie, Saltwater and Man About Dog.

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below is a list of Billy Roche's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Amphibians         Belfry         Cavalcaders,the         Haberdashery         Handful Of Stars, A         Johnny Nobody         Lay Me Down Softly         On Such As We         One Is Not A Number         Poor Beast In the Rain         Tales From Rainwater Pond

Amphibians

Amphibians
Old superstitions survive throughout the world, but nowhere as strongly as among the men who work the fishing boats in the Irish town of Wexford. the shoals of herring have long since left the local waters and the fisherman are now reduced to working in a local mussel packing factory - except one. Eagle remains a true independent, a lone individual clinging to the sea, struggling to keep the old traditions alive in a fast-changing world. Now in his forties, many of the local customs have died out with his generation and the younger men who have followed have become disaffected, having nothing of the spirit which once meant 'belonging'. the last of a dying breed, Eagle proudly holds on to his past despite knowing that he will also soon be forced to have the freedom of the sea for the factory floor. Before he does, however, he decides to revive an old local rite-of-passage ritual for his own son, Issac: a night spent alone on an uninhabited offshore island. It proves to be a gesture which awakens both envy and

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
RSC

1st Published:
Warner Chappell Plays, London, 1992   978-1854594631

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.irishplayography.com/play.aspx?playid=1230
Theatre Record Vol XII (1992) Page 0997 - [Theatre: Pit]

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Belfry

Belfry
Artie is the sacristan in the local church. Caring for his elderly mother, he spends most of his time with Father Pat and Dominic the young alter-server - that is until Angela starts to help with the church flowers. the two begin a soaring affair, but when somebody tells Angela's husband, Archie is left to face life without her

Notes:
Part of the Wexford Trilogy

1st Produced:
Bush Theatre, London >>>    18 Nov 1991

Organisations:
Bush Theatre

1st Published:
in "the Wexford Trilogy", Hern, London, 1992   978-1854594716

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Cavalcaders,the

Cavalcaders,the
the Cavalcaders explores the lives and loves of four barbershop singers and shoe repairmen from small-town Ireland. they spend their days mending shoes and their nights as singers of local legend. their musical harmonies, however, are not reflected in their private lives.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Abbey Theatre

1st Published:
in the Cavalcaders & Amphibians, Nick Hern Books, London, 1995   978-1854594631

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Memory Play Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Haberdashery

Synopsis:
In Southern Ireland, young love grown stale, ambition dulled and lives left only partly lived.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 1997   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Handful Of Stars, A

Handful Of Stars, A
the pain and disillusionment following the break-up of a family form the backdrop to this Drama set in a pool-hall. Jimmy and the other regulars waste hours with their cues until Jimmy has a bust up with his girlfriend and embarks on a spree of violence.

Notes:
Part of the Wexford Trilogy

1st Produced:
Bush Theatre, London >>>    15 Feb 1988

Organisations:
Bush Theatre

1st Published:
in "First Run", Hern, London, 1989   978-1854594716

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Johnny Nobody

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Wexford    1986

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lay Me Down Softly

Lay Me Down Softly
Set in rural Ireland of the early 1960s, Lay Me Down Softly introduces the colourful if seedy burlesque that is Delaney's Travelling Roadshow - and in particular its boxing hall, where prizefighter Dean takes on all comers on a nightly basis. That is, until a challenge from a professional fighter upsets the apple-cart. . .

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.irishplayography.com/play.aspx?playid=3154
Theatre Record Vol XXXI (2011) Page 0767 - [Theatre: Tricycle]

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On Such As We

On Such As We
Oweney's barber shop and the rooms to let above it offer refuge to a host of lonely hearts: a recently laid-off hotel night porter, an angry young artist, an orphan girl, a wounded old widower, a likeable bruiser and the beautiful Maeve. All of them, in their various ways, fall under Oweney's loving spell.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Abbey Theatre

1st Published:
Nick Hern Books, London, 2001   978-1854596710

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.irishplayography.com/play.aspx?playid=815

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One Is Not A Number

Synopsis:
Matty a social outcast from childhood talks of his love for Imelda

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Wexford Arts Centre    15 Oct 2009

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Monologue play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.irishplayography.com/play.aspx?playid=3291

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Poor Beast In the Rain

Poor Beast In the Rain
Eileen works in her father's betting shop. Molly, Steven and Joe manage to keep their regrets about the past safely locked away and young Georgie is ready to turn his back on the outside world and follow their example, until the return of the legendary Danger Doyle. Having turned his back on the cycle of missed opportunities and thwarted desires to run away to London with Eileen's mother, Danger Doyle now offers Eileen the possibility of escape.

Notes:
Part of the Wexford Trilogy

1st Produced:
Bush Theatre, London >>>    08 Nov 1989

Organisations:
Bush Theatre

1st Published:
in "the Wexford Trilogy", Hern, London, 1992   978-1854594716

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Tales From Rainwater Pond

Synopsis:
In Ireland's strange, beautiful, and eerie small town of Rainwater Pond, tales of raw life and lost-and-found love unfold. Written and performed by leading Irish playwright Barry Roche, whose Rainwater Pond story 'Table Manner' was the basis for Conor McPherson's film Eclipse, which was screened at New York's Tribeca Film Festival
- press release

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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